Ken Borland

South Africa coach Heyneke Meyer on Saturday announced five uncapped players in the 30-man Springbok squad for the two Rugby Championship Tests against Argentina in Cape Town and Mendoza.

Wing JJ Engelbrecht, flyhalf Elton Jantjies and scrumhalf Jano Vermaak were members of the extended squad for the series against England in June, but did not feature in any of the three Tests, while flank Siya Kolisi and prop Pat Cilliers have been brought into the team for the first time after strong showings in the SuperRugby competition.

Eighthman Ryan Kankowski and centre Wynand Olivier, who have both signed contracts to play in Japan, have been dropped, allowing the experienced Pierre Spies to retain his place, while Francois Steyn returns after missing the last Test against England to get married.

Fullback Bjorn Basson, prop Coenie Oosthuizen, flyhalf Johan Goosen and loose forwards Schalk Burger, Heinrich Brussow and Duane Vermuelen were not considered due to injury.

Lock Andries Bekker, the tallest Springbok ever at 2.08m, has been recalled to the squad after missing the England series due to injury, and will join youngsters Juandre Kruger, Eben Etzebeth and Flip van der Merwe in the second row.

“The Rugby Championship is going to be very tough and a few youngsters are going to need to put their hands up because we’re playing against the best teams in the world. We’ll need to improve every game and we’d like to keep some continuity in the squad,” Meyer told a news conference in Worcester on Saturday.

Meyer named seven front-row players, including the complete front row of the Sharks team that reached the SuperRugby final – burly loosehead prop Tendai Mtawarira, hooker Bismarck du Plessis and his brother, tighthead Jannie.

Lions prop Cilliers’ ability to play both tighthead and loosehead has seen him selected for the first time.

The 21-year-old Kolisi enjoyed a top-class SuperRugby campaign for the Stormers, proving himself as a ferocious tackler and strong ball-carrier.

The squad will assemble in Cape Town on Sunday for a training camp.

“It’s a big challenge, playing six Tests against the best teams in the world in eight weeks and we now have to ensure we improve on how we played against England. It’s still early days for this team, but we are excited about what lies ahead in a brand-new competition that promises to be very testing,” Meyer said.

South Africa are playing Argentina, who are making their debut in the southern hemisphere competition that also includes World Cup winners New Zealand and defending champions Australia, in Cape Town on August 18, before travelling to South America to play the same team in Mendoza on August 25.

The Springboks are coming off a disappointing 14-14 draw with England in their last Test, in Port Elizabeth on June 23 and Meyer said the make-up of the squad would be reconsidered after the two Tests against Argentina. This will be followed by Tests against Australia in Perth (September 8) and the All Blacks in Dunedin (September 15), followed by the home matches against those two sides, in Pretoria (September 29) and Soweto (October 6).

Squad – Zane Kirchner, Pat Lambie, JP Pietersen, Bryan Habana, Lwazi Mvovo, Francois Hougaard, JJ Engelbrecht, Jean de Villiers, Francois Steyn, Morne Steyn, Elton Jantjies, Ruan Pienaar, Jano Vermaak, Keegan Daniel, Pierre Spies, Marcell Coetzee, Willem Alberts, Jacques Potgieter, Siya Kolisi, Andries Bekker, Juandre Kruger, Eben Etzebeth, Flip van der Merwe, Jannie du Plessis, Bismarck du Plessis, Adriaan Strauss, Chiliboy Ralepelle, Tendai Mtawarira, Dean Greyling, Pat Cilliers.

The Regent Boland Cavaliers played some thrilling rugby as they thrashed the Valke 79-26 (half-time 34-19) in their Absa Currie Cup First Division match in Worcester on Saturday.

With the country’s head coach, Heyneke Meyer, in attendance for the Springbok squad announcement after the game, the Cavaliers used their backline to great effect, strolling through for 12 tries. It has to be admitted, however, that they were up against an exceptionally naive Valke defence.

Boland also used the rolling maul superbly to score four of their tries, two of them going to captain and flank Franzel September.

Impressive outside centre Senan van der Merwe pounced on a dropped pass to turn the opening three minutes of Valke pressure into counter-attack and a try to eighthman Zandre’ Jordaan in the corner.

September scored his first from a rolling maul in the seventh minute, with flyhalf Elgar Watts, who did much to spark his backline, adding the conversion and a penalty to stretch the lead to 15-0 after just 10 minutes.

The flags had barely gone down from that kick when hooker and man of the match Ashton Constant went on a bullocking run and then produced a lovely pop-pass inside for Watts to score and convert his own try (22-0).

Two tries provided some salve for the Valke, powerful centre Jaco Oosthuizen cutting back through some poor defending to score and prop Nico Pretorius going over from close range, but the visitors still could not solve their defensive problems and the Cavaliers scored two more tries before the break to keep the Gautengers at bay.

September used the rolling maul to grab his second, before fullback Eric Zana burst through, finding good support from flank Junior Bester, who passed back inside to scrumhalf Neil Papier, who dashed over.

Wing Cornal Hendricks, a constant threat, sped away to score to give Boland the ideal start to the second half and more faulty defending by the Valke allowed Papier to roar over for his second try after a half-break by Watts.

The Cavaliers were really starting to pull away with a 48-19 lead just six minutes into the second half and the half-century was up after 58 minutes as the home team were disallowed a try, but then won the ball from the Valke’s scrum feed, Hendricks wrong-footing the defence with ridiculous ease to score his second try.

The Valke were better with ball in hand and replacement wing JC Greyling scored their bonus-point try on the hour, after centre Willie Odendaal had broken straight through some poor midfield defence.

The Eastern Gautengers soon infringed, however, and replacement hooker Madoda Yoka picked up the ball from a ruck after the rolling maul from the penalty and dotted down.

The Valke were near-exhausted by then and the Cavaliers scored three more tries in the closing stages – wing Brendon April grabbing two and lock PJ van Zyl the other.

SCORERS

Regent Boland Cavaliers – Tries: Zandre’ Jordaan, Franzel September (2), Elgar Watts, Neil Papier (2), Cornal Hendricks (2), Madoda Yoka, Brendon April (2), PJ van Zyl. Conversions: Watts (5), Ricardo Croy (3). Penalty: Watts.

Valke – Tries: Jaco Oosthuizen (2), Nico Pretorius, JC Greyling. Conversions: Karlo Aspeling (2), Juan Kotze.

http://www.supersport.com/rugby/currie-cup-first-division/news/120804/Cavaliers_romp_to_thrilling_win

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Fullback JC Roos kept his cool under immense pressure as he kicked a touchline conversion to salvage a 30-30 draw for the Ford Pumas in their Absa Currie Cup First Division match against the EP Kings at the Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit on Friday.

The Kings had dominated the first 50 minutes of the match in impressive fashion, making a compelling argument that they are a team on the rise, as they built a formidable 27-9 lead.

But they then suffered a dramatic fade-out in the last half-hour that certainly leaves more questions than answers about their ability to perform on bigger stages than the Currie Cup B Section.

The Pumas, playing in front of their home crowd – which looked sparse in the massive Mbombela Stadium – produced a rousing, passionate comeback and it was the boot of Roos that ensured they came away with a share of the spoils.

Roos kicked with authority throughout, succeeding with all six of his shots at goal, including the conversion from the touchline after the final hooter that secured the draw.

The crucial try came after the Pumas had put the Kings defence through a thorough examination, but the visitors managed to turn over the ball. They then decided to take it up from their own tryline, but were adjudged to have been sealing off at the ruck, giving the home side a penalty, which they kicked to touch.

The Pumas set up the rolling maul, but the Kings defended that well, so the ball was spread left and then back right, where outside centre Tiaan Marx found the space to dash over in the corner for the try.

The Kings had dominated the opening exchanges and grabbed the opening try when lock and captain Darron Nell soared high at the back of the lineout, flank Thabo Mamojele bounced out of tackles in midfield to give the visitors front-foot ball, and flyhalf George Whitehead then timed the inside-pass perfectly for wing Marcello Sampson to use his pace and capitalise on the space created for him.

Whitehead’s conversion made it 7-0, but he then hacked a penalty wide, before the Pumas had their first points on the board in the 16th minute via a Roos penalty, that came after the home side were finally able to hang on to the ball through several phases.

But it was a case of just a temporary relief of pressure on the Mpumalanga side as the Kings showed super ball-retention, prop Jaco Engels and centre Tiger Mangweni making good ground, to earn a penalty for Whitehead (10-3).

The strong ball-carrying of the Pumas forwards earned Roos another penalty five minutes later (6-10), but the superb interplay of the Kings forwards and backs brought another try Eastern Province’s way five minutes before the break as lock David Bulbring surged on to an inside ball and scored their second try.

Whitehead converted and, even though Roos closed the gap to 9-17 with a penalty, it was obvious which team had the momentum going into the second half.

The Pumas were punished by another try soon after the break as they did not look after their ball going into a ruck and the Kings struck from the turnover, hooker Hannes Franklin rounding off an 11-phase counter-attack that once again featured forwards and backs.

Whitehead converted and then added a penalty five minutes later after the Eastern Province forwards hit the ball up well and forced a ruck infringement.

The Pumas were 9-27 down, but it’s often out of desperation that teams eventually find their mojo and the home side hit back in spectacular fashion.

Mpumalanga’s comeback started with a try to flank Renaldo Bothma from the rolling maul that has been so kind to the Pumas.

But where the Pumas were so impressive was in their ability to vary their game.

The next time they kicked a penalty to touch and lock Rudi Matthee won the ball, they shaped to set up the rolling maul but instead spread the ball wide. They went left first and then came back right, where captain and wing JW Jonker squeezed over in the corner, Roos’s excellent conversion putting the Pumas in touching distance at 23-27 down.

The Pumas were suddenly all over the Kings and where the visitors managed to avoid defeat was in a scrum close to their line when Engels produced a massive shove that won them a penalty against the feed. From the resulting lineout, Eastern Province took the ball through 14 phases and it was Whitehead who kicked the penalty to give them some breathing space at 30-23 up.

But it was the Pumas who had the final say through Marx and Roos.

The Pumas’ strength was in their tight five and their never-say-die spirit, and their calmness under pressure was impressive, possibly because they are used to life in the Absa Currie Cup Premier Division. Roos was also superb and, in the final movement that brought the try, he also gathered an awful pass that was flung at his feet.

The EP Kings will need to look into the reasons for their late fade, but they played some magnificent rugby to enliven the match. Their loose trio of Mamojele, Cornell du Preez and Wimpie van der Walt played superbly to provide a steady supply of good ball to their backs, who at times threatened to run riot.

Mangweni’s experience at inside centre also went a long way to getting the Kings backline running smoothly.

SCORERS

Ford Pumas – Tries: Renaldo Bothma, JW Jonker, Tiaan Marx. Conversions: JC Roos (3). Penalties: Roos (3).

EP Kings – Tries: Marcello Sampson, David Bulbring, Hannes Franklin. Conversions: George Whitehead (3). Penalties: Whitehead (3).

http://www.supersport.com/rugby/currie-cup-first-division/news/120803/Roos_salvages_draw_for_Pumas

The lovely male Coqui Francolin at Ezemvelo

It’s a wonderfully counter-intuitive part of nature that fields that have been ravaged by fire are often vibrant oases of life … and my visit to Ezemvelo Nature Reserve once again proved this.

The reserve, situated 74km due east of Pretoria, just past Bronkhorstspruit, had obviously done their winter burning quite recently and stretching far to the right as you drive into Ezemvelo were burnt fields full of wildlife … and some interesting birds.

Without the new grass springing up, and the burnt seeds and carrion now exposed, I’ve no doubt that the area would have just looked like the old farmland around the reserve. But my eyes were inexporably drawn and kept busy by the cavalcade of life on the right, while the only thing of interest on the other, unburnt side of the road, was a treed ridge which didn’t hold anything.

Lovely Capped Wheatears were darting about the burnt fields like livewire sentinels, while the lack of trees didn’t bother the Fiscal Shrikes, who were using both high and low perches to hunt in areas where the visibility of their prey had greatly improved. The Forktailed Drongos were able to use telephone poles in the absence of trees.

Two Blackbacked Jackals were plodding along in mischievous fashion, obviously on the lookout for any bits of “braaied meat” left behind.

A stately Kudu emerged from some trees close to the road and there were no fewer than nine species of antelope present, as well as many Warthog (especially near the Wilge and Sterkfontein rivers), a Vervet Monkey, Plains Zebra and a Yellow Mongoose.

The overall colour was still the usual drab yellowish-grey of the Highveld winter, and some pink rondavels did break up the monotony, but the colour really wasn’t to my liking!

Fortunately, there was a wonderful splash of colour amongst all these muted tones with a Whitefronted Bee-Eater swooping into view.

The thicker grass down by the Wilge River produced a Spikeheeled Lark and a herd of Eland on the hillside above, while some female and young Waterbuck tried to hide themselves as well.

Then it was time to ascend back up the hill and through the old regenerating farmlands – now there were burnt fields on both sides of the road …

I was enjoying the whirring white wings of the Anteating Chats when there, right next to the road, appeared the cute little Coqui Francolin male with his orange head and striped belly. I’ve only seem them before in the Kruger National Park, maybe once or twice, so it was a marvellous, lengthy sighting.

Longbilled Pipit and a rambunctious Eastern Clapper Lark striding about were other good sightings before I departed.

A pair of Red Hartebeest in the burnt fields - note the fresh green grass coming up!

Sightings list

Crowned Plover

Capped Wheatear

Common Ostrich

Blesbok

Springbok

Blue Wildebeest

Fiscal Shrike

Forktailed Drongo

Blackbacked Jackal

Kudu

Red Hartebeest

Warthog

Vervet Monkey

African Stonechat

Blackeyed Bulbul

Rock Pigeon

Reed Cormorant

Helmeted Guineafowl

Black Wildebeest

Blackchested Prinia

Egyptian Goose

Cape Turtle Dove

Eland

Spikeheeled Lark

Southern Black Flycatcher

Waterbuck

Redeyed Dove

Cape Wagtail

Giant Kingfisher

Pied Crow

Plains Zebra

Fantailed Cisticola

Orangethroated Longclaw

Longtailed Widow

Gemsbok

Anteating Chat

Southern Masked Weaver

Arrowmarked Babbler

Whitefronted Bee-Eater

Brownhooded Kingfisher

Longbilled Pipit

Yellow Mongoose

Coqui Francolin

Rock Martin

Laughing Dove

Grassveld Pipit

Eastern Clapper Lark

Blacksmith Plover